Though there are some repeats this week, we are trying to get better at following the plan, which really means that nothing else can break or go wrong in our home and work and family. We'll see how that works. This is the first year we won't be doing our serpent for St. Michael's**, because our schedule has been so crazy, and I just can't figure out how to fit it in, and we won't have our bonfire, either. Instead, we ate waffles and blackberry syrup for our dinner in honor of one of our favorite saints. On the plus side, I'm hoping that there will be no emergency room trips this year. Jerome's name day is this week, as well, which we always have fun with at home.

Our garden is still plugging away and Sir Francis Bacon, or Frank, is eating up a storm. We are working at putting the garden to bed, then letting him root around all over it and growing some cover crops, or just covering it all with grass clippings, leaves, wood shavings, and compost to start getting ready for next year's garden. This is Alexander's second week at the college, which is pretty cool, and our second week with the homeschool co-op. This new school schedule along with our intense ballet schedule is a bit of a bear. And then, I've been doing a ton of submissions, as well. I'm only planning one or two of them this month, maybe re-submitting some proposals that were rejected for previous magazines to see if they'll fit better in this round.

We helped our friends pack up their moving van and they have left. It's been a sad time for us, even though we are thrilled they have a great job to go to, because it is so far away. However, I found out that a train trip to visit them would cost two or three thousand dollars less than driving and hotels would. It would take the same amount of time, but we wouldn't have to drive or put the wear and tear on our van. We may look deeper into this.

Below, I include our daily Bible readings which we use to read through the entire Bible each year. We read through all of the Old Testament and New Testament, reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Remember that the Psalms are according to eastern numbering in our daily Bible reading, also I Kings is the original designation, it is I Samuel in western Bibles (II Kings is II Samuel in the west, III Kings is I Kings, and IV Kings is II Kings, I Ezra is also called I Esdras in other translations, II Ezra is often translated as Ezra or II Esdras).

• Sunday Song of Solomon 3-4, Psalms 50:1–10, Proverbs 10:23–27, I Corinthians 8
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Craisins and Cream, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Papas con Chorizo, Raspberry-Chocolate Ice Cream
• Monday Song of Solomon 5-6, Psalms 50:11–21, Proverbs 10:28–33, I Corinthians 9
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Bananas, Milky Tea and Coffee, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chef Salad with Bacon, Hard Boiled Eggs, and Cheese
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Michael Song of Solomon 7-8, Psalms 51, Proverbs 11:1–5, I Corinthians 10:1–13
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Waffles with Blackberry Syrup, Bacon
• Wednesday - Feast of Saint Jerome Wisdom of Solomon 1-2, Psalms 52-53, Proverbs 11:6–10, I Corinthians 10:14-11:1
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Craisins, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cream of Poblano Soup, Fried Tortilla Strips, Cucumber-Tomato Salad
• Thursday Wisdom of Solomon 3-4, Psalms 54:1–12, Proverbs 11:11–15, I Corinthians 11:2–16
  Breakfast: Pear Banana Bread with Cream Cheese, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Claudia's Chicken, Rice, Cucumber-Tomato Salad
• Friday Wisdom of Solomon 5-6, Psalms 54:13–24, Proverbs 11:16–20, I Corinthians 7:1–24
  Breakfast: Granola Bars, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Potato, Squash, and Smoked Salmon Quiche, Salad
• Saturday Wisdom of Solomon 7-8, Psalms 55, Proverbs 11:21–25, I Corinthians 12:1–30
  Breakfast: Saint Phanourios Cake, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Curried Beef and Vegetables (I plan on using veggies from the garden: chard, potatoes, peppers, onions, okra, and squash), Rice, Marinated Cucumbers and Onions

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up.

**Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. -- Revelation 12:7-9

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Michaelmas, Name Day, Tales from the Kitchen

A big thank you to everyone who has signed up using my referral link! I so appreciate the credits, as they allow me to get these more frequently than I thought I would initially. If you are interested in learning more, I wrote about my first experience on the blog, and you can do a search on my Stitch Fix posts.

This month I took another shot at getting a fix after the last one which was so close, but not really what I wanted. I removed any price limits on my profile in an attempt to have a better chance at getting more natural fibers. Some of the things in the shipment didn't quite fit what I was looking for, and as part of my effort to be more conscious of my own sense of style, and not just get something that is good enough, there were some things that I actually liked quite a bit, but didn't keep. I'm trying to only buy things that are absolutely perfect for me, and just wait if I can't get that. Liz did my styling again, and I really do think she is doing an excellent job. Her note indicated that she definitely was reading what I was writing and requesting, and while some of the items she sent didn't fit my wishes, she explained her choices and reasoning, and I think they were good choices, just not necessarily in line with the perfect for me bit.

So, here are my items with my comments on what I passed on and kept.

Item #1 Crescent Leadora A Line Dress - $58

First, the wonderful: The color. Obviously. The cut and fit, the cap sleeves, the interesting hemline, the little peek of the chiffon underlining.

Really, I think that Liz gets what I'm looking for there. This was very early 1960s, which is the upper limit of the kind of vintage look I love. However, it was, as she pointed out, 100% polyester, and I just don't want to go there. If it had even been a blend, I would have kept it. Rich's comment was not to wear it on an airplane. Sent back. Sadly.


Item #2 Skies Are Blue Mino Scallop Detail Cardigan - $58

It is almost a cruel joke to have anyone try to pick a sweater for me. I'm so, so, so picky about them, being a knitter. And, again, there was a fiber content issue. This was 100% acrylic, which I just don't care for, especially at retail price. The color was gorgeous, though, and I loved the scalloped detail on the bands. I'm not entirely sold on dolman sleeves. I like them when I see them, but I think you have to be either really skinny, or rather small in the bust to look nice in them. Since I am neither of those, and haven't been since I was nine, this didn't really work for me. Besides that, it was still bulkier than I like my clothes to be. If it had been more fitted, or even loose and drapey, but body skimming, with that scallop detail, and had been made of natural fibers or a blend, I would have kept it. Pass.


Item #3 Mavi Kalie Denim Jacket - $98

Again, this was kind of unfair. Liz listened really well to my wishes about color and not having distressing on my denim. This was an excellent color choice, I liked the cut and style, and thought it went well with a lot of the clothes I already own. Also, this is the same brand as Rich's favorite jeans and we could wear them together and be too cute. Two things got in the way of my buying it: One being that in the time between my last fix and now, I found another one that I liked quite a bit and bought it, and the other, that the sleeves on this were still remarkably tight. I don't know if I just have abnormally large arms, but it was uncomfortable, so I couldn't imagine how it would be after washing. If I had been getting the rest of the box, I would have gotten this and given it to a friend and we could have been denim jacket twins, but since there were two other items I wasn't keeping, this was a pass.


Item #4 Market & Spruce Nic Striped Dress - $64

I think I pinned this exact dress from someone else's fix, actually. It was awesome and made me look curvy and sexy and not fat, but also wasn't plunging at the neck, skin tight, or too short. Navy and white stripes are great for me, the fabric was rayon and spandex, which is nice and feels great, it is comfortable and can be dressed up or down pretty easily, and it goes with a lot of what I already have in my closet. Rich loved me in it. I think it will look great with the green jacket I received in my third fix. Definitely kept this!


Item #5 Amour Vert for Stitch Fix Alessandro V-Neck Blouse - $118

So, I kind of love this blouse. It is sheer silk, but not so sheer that I have to wear something else under it, my bra doesn't show with just the blouse on, the polka dots are hearts (!), which is adorable, I like the placket with the buttons and the v-neck, it can be worn untucked, but doesn't look slouchy that way, and the kind of peasant-y detail on the sleeve with the elastic and the wrist is a nice touch, the collar was cut really well, and the buttons didn't pull across the front, which is often a problem for busty women. The jeans were a pair I already own, but they were the exact same shade as the hearts on the blouse, and I feel like I could wear this to a semi-casual event, or running errands this fall and look put together without too much effort. I can also wear it with skirts, or with a white camisole underneath. Keep, keep, keep!

As an aside, I think this is the first time I've shared a photo of me in pants. Also, I love that jeans and high heels are back in style. It's wonderful for shorter women like me.

I often tell my family that the funniest things done or said around here are things I can't share online. Rich's comments are the best, but mostly not really repeatable, by the way, so sorry you are missing out on his commentary. I'm trying to find a way to clean up something he said. He said that he loves my Stitch Fix shipments, because he gets to watch me change my clothes so many times. And that they should use that as a marketing ploy: Improve your marriage with Stitch Fix!

So, this definitely was a successful box, I think. I didn't keep it all, but each item was something I could have worn. As I've said before, I am a detail person. The details that make an otherwise standard piece stand out are what draw me the most. Each of these items had at least one detail like that, the chiffon underskirt and the tulip hem on the cobalt dress, the scalloped edging on the cardigan, the fitted cut on an otherwise boxy jacket on the denim, the diagonal, criss cross stripes on the dress, and the placket v-neck and heart polka dots on the blouse.

My stylist and I seemed more in sync this time. I had asked for a couple things that weren't in the box, but Liz explained why, the vest I was interested wasn't available to them in the colors that I wanted, and the kind of top I asked about was only available in polyester, so I wasn't too disappointed that they weren't in the shipment. I will just have to keep my eyes open for them in stores and online. Really online, because I never go shopping any more.

If you are interested in trying Stitch Fix for yourself, I encourage you to give it a shot. It's been a fun treat for me, and a way to help me refine and define my personal style. I'd encourage you also to do as I do, and get rid of something you don't love or that doesn't fit for every item you keep.

Labels: Fashionista, Reviews, Stitch Fix

That is Amira's cropped hoodie with a finished headband I made from a practice tube during the circular sock knitting machine retreat (I have another to be finished off, and it will take all of five minutes, but I have so much else to do in the interim that it's waiting in my knitting bag) and some yarn for swatching up there. The jacket looks like it's almost finished, doesn't it? Except the number of stitches for the hood is too small, and so I have to rip back both fronts to change the neck decreases and try to make the numbers work. I'm changing the gauge as well as size, so it's taking a little experimentation. In my opinion, this is the difference between good knitters and beginners: Good knitters are not afraid to rip their projects back and make it the way they actually want it. So, anyway, I actually finished the swatch for a proposal, but really didn't like the colors together, though it seemed like they should be lovely, and frogged it. The only reason I kept knitting was so I could see how the stitch patterns worked in concert and get a photograph of that for my own use. I didn't want to redo the swatch in the same way if I didn't like the stitches as well as the color combination. This is the new set of colors, which is remarkably similar, but different enough that I think it will appear more harmonious.


Pure Merino Worsted in Weathered Frame and Masala.
Not only did I get the lovely September yarn club shipment from Paradise last week, but this week I received two sweater quantities of yarn from the Magnolia Society. I did end up signing up for the new yarn club for the fall, and I will be cancelling the Paradise club membership. Besides that, I got my ipsy Glam Bag since my last post, and my next Stitch Fix box should be here tomorrow or the day after that. It's been a great week for mail and UPS deliveries here. And that's just for me! Alexander received his fancy pants, engraved, brand new iPod for use at school (And home. Also, can you believe that my baby boy is taking college classes? Just the first day of being in class, and he became a responsible adult: He called me while I was at ballet with Amira and asked if he should start dinner for everyone so it would be ready when we got back!).


©Geneve Hoffman Photography.
Also, in case you missed it, Saint Catherine of Alexandria was published a couple weeks ago and is available in the book and on Ravelry. And here's the weekly reminder to like Arabian Knits Designs on Facebook, if you haven't already. That's where I put updates and testing opportunities and other design news. Your liking it gets me more visibility with folks who may not know about my patterns. Thank you!

I finally started reading Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe. I bought it a year or so ago, and it isn't long or hard to read, it's just been sitting amid my other stacks of books until fairly recently. It is a great read, and I wish I'd started it earlier. The text is accessible even to kids, and I've been reading it aloud to them as we discuss what is being said. This is definitely written from an Orthodox/Sacramental perspective, but there is a lot in it that all of Christianity really needs to think about and wrestle with, in my opinion.

We're still reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 25th Anniversary Edition to our kids and loving the humor and fun. Last night, I explained what a petit four was to them, how it was a small cake and the name implied that since it was so small, it was made in a tiny oven (four is the French word for oven). The description in the book was of a giant petit four.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On, and Yarn Fanatic Party.

So, I didn't actually intend to permanently combine my yarn along posts with my menu plans. We still haven't quite recovered from our whirlwind trip and abrupt slam into full time daily life. Alexander began his college program this week, we have school work, ballet began before we left, we have our first week of co-op this week, and we have some dear friends who are moving this week and the last two weeks have been full of events and parties to send them off and give our kids a few more chances to see them before they won't see them for a long while. Pennsylvania is a long way away, and it is unlikely that there will be frequent visits. I've tried to emphasize how blessed we are to not only have phone and mail, but the internet and FaceTime and so on, to help us keep in contact. It's still been a pretty sad week here. Most of our kids said their goodbyes on Monday, after a final sleepover here with their friends, but Alexander is going with Rich to help pack their moving van on Saturday, and will have to say his goodbyes then. We also have a dance on Saturday, and I am doing the morning devotions for our co-op, so I have a little extra to prepare each week. It's all good things, but busy things, too. Not to mention proposal deadlines.

Our garden hasn't quite given up the ghost, so we're still getting squash and tomatoes and chard and such. It's slowing down, though, and our plan is to use our pig, Sir Francis Bacon, to help plow under the remaining plant material after we go through and harvest the last of it. He will turn over the ground, and the plan is to put grass clippings and straw and wood chips over the whole thing and put the garden to bed for the year after that.

Below, I include our daily Bible readings which we use to read through the entire Bible each year. We read through all of the Old Testament and New Testament, reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Remember that the Psalms are according to eastern numbering in our daily Bible reading, also I Kings is the original designation, it is I Samuel in western Bibles (II Kings is II Samuel in the west, III Kings is I Kings, and IV Kings is II Kings, I Ezra is also called I Esdras in other translations, II Ezra is often translated as Ezra or II Esdras).

• Sunday Job 41-42, Psalms 45, Proverbs 9:12–15, I Corinthians 2
  Breakfast: Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon on Toast, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Tortilla Chips with Bean Dip and Salsa, Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Grilled Yellow Squash, Potato Salad, Grilled Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and Steaks, Blackberry Sorbet Bars, Dark Chocolate Pudding
• Monday - Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle Ecclesiastes 1-2, Psalms 46, Proverbs 9:16–20, I Corinthians 3
  Breakfast: Leftover Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Toast, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers Soup, Bread
• Tuesday Ecclesiastes 3:1-5:6, Psalms 47, Proverbs 9:21–25, I Corinthians 4
  Breakfast: Garlic Cheese Toast, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper with Green Beans and Elbow Macaroni, Sliced Cucumbers
• Wednesday Ecclesiastes 5:7-7:29, Psalms 48:1–10, Proverbs 10:1–6, I Corinthians 5
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Tomatoes, Sliced Cucumbers, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Potato, Zucchini and Chard Frittata, Tomato-Cucumber Salad, Italian Bread
• Thursday Ecclesiastes 8:1-10:10, Psalms 48:11–21, Proverbs 10:7–11, I Corinthians 6
  Breakfast: Pear Banana Bread with Cream Cheese, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Papas con Chorizo, Marinated Cucumber and Onions
• Friday Ecclesiastes 10:11-12:14, Psalms 49:1–15, Proverbs 10:12–16, I Corinthians 7:1–24
  Breakfast: Toaster Waffles, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Cream of Poblano Soup, Fried Tortilla Strips, Cucumber-Tomato Salad
• Saturday Song of Solomon 1-2, Psalms 49:16–23, Proverbs 10:17–22, I Corinthians 7:25–40
  Breakfast: Saint Phanourios Cake, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Bolognese, Salad, Garlic Bread

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up.

Labels: Books, Church Year, Design, Family, FOs, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Homesteading, Knitting, Menu Plans, Stitch Fix, Tales from the Kitchen, Yarn, Yarn Along

If you didn't know that there was a One-Skein Wonders blog tour happening, I encourage you to check out the link below and also search around the interwebs to find other designers' posts. I first worked with Storey in 2007 with 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders: A World of Possibilities Inspired by Just One Skein which included my Ostrich Plume Bonnet. I wanted to contribute to the luxury book, and they even contacted me about it, but Rich's job change and our move happened in the middle of the submission period, and it just didn't happen. So, I was excited to be working with them again on this book with Saint Catherine of Alexandria. You'll find her on page 68 of the book, with adorable modeling as you can see here.


©Geneve Hoffman Photography.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is my daughter Yasmina's name saint, and she inspired me a bit with this design. I knew that there were French traditions surrounding this saint involving hearts and romance (which is a little misplaced, as she was a virgin saint who would not marry. Though I suppose her heart for God and the Church and the poor might be called on and brought to mind), so I kind of ran with that. Even the type of garment, a cache-coeur, or heart holder, was a nod to this. I saw a similar lace heart design on a girl's sweater at a fiber festival about 10 years ago, and I recreated it as best as I could. The final little heart touch I made was the choice of buttons. Since I love one piece and seamless construction, I was determined to make this a knit that only required weaving in ends, sewing on buttons, and a little blocking to be complete. Knitting begins at the bottom of the back, works its way up, then works one side as it crosses the front while the other side is held on a stitch holder, and returns to the second side to reverse the shaping and mirror the first. The pattern is knit up in two sizes, a newborn to six month size and a six to 12 month size. Both sizes only use one skein of the yarn called for in the pattern, though if substituting yarns, you may want to make sure you check the yardage estimates. Even making the larger size as the sample for the book, I had enough yarn left over to make a little, matching hat using the chart for the heart.



I have to say that I was a little worried that I wouldn't have the book in my hands in time to write this post, but it arrived right before our trip, so I was able to enjoy it and show off to our friends. It was important to me that I had a chance to see the other designs and the lay out of the book before I wrote about it. If you've read any of my reviews before, you know that I am brutally honest (so much so, that I was honestly surprised to receive a second request from a book publisher to do a review), however, I am pleased to report that this book continues in the pattern of the books that came before it in being an excellent publication and fun series of books for knitters and crocheters who buy (as we all do) that one great skein or that one special skein or that last color that was lonely. These books are wonderful resources for me, and this book, specifically, did not disappoint. There are at least 20 designs in here that I would like to knit, just in my first pass through the book. Even if you don't have babies or toddlers of your own, this is a wonderful source of ideas for those of you out there who have grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friends having children. Aside from that, I would recommend this book and the series to other designers. I have found that the editors and staff at Storey are wonderful to work with, and willing to offer opportunities to new and lesser known designers to be published. If you have ever harbored a little spark of a dream of making your own design or pattern, keep your ears open for news from them.


Here's one more photo of a variation I made for Nejat (our youngest daughter) using the yarn I intended to use for the Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Small Indulgences book. I thought it was fitting to use it to make this design for her.

Thank you for making a stop here with me on this blog tour. Please check out the book, my pattern, but especially the other posts on the tour to learn something new about the other designs and designers who worked on this publication as well.

Labels: Books, Design, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns

We took a short trip to Kamiah, ID, to visit some friends and get some much needed rest. That is why we have another menu along this week. My design work and other knitting came with us, of course. I've passed the half way mark on Amira's cropped hoodie, so it may actually be possible for her to wear it to ballet by the end of this month! While hiking with our friends I brought it along, because it required no note taking or chart reading, as my prototypes and swatches did (I'm wearing some hand knit socks, too!).


Yarn Fairy Sock Fine in Righteous + Euro Yarns Athena in Primaries.
Also, I didn't end up cancelling my yarn club membership with Paradise, so here is the September yarn. They sent the Athena in addition to the club yarn, which is fun. This weekend, I get to try my hand at using a sock knitting machine to make a pair of socks, so I plan to use this yarn for a pair for a friend. We'll see if I cancel or keep on going. I'm tempted by another yarn club, and can't really justify spending the money on both.


©Geneve Hoffman Photography.
In case you missed it last week, Storey Publications has released their One-Skein Wonders for Babies: 101 Knitting Projects for Infants & Toddlers, with Saint Catherine of Alexandria in it (pages 68-70). And here's the weekly reminder to like Arabian Knits Designs on Facebook, if you haven't already. That's where I put updates and testing opportunities and other design news. Your liking it gets me more visibility with folks who may not know about my patterns and that helps. Thank you!

Still reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 25th Anniversary Edition to our kids.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On, and Yarn Fanatic Party.


Here is the menu plan, as well. Some of these meals were what we ate while still with our friends. We had a great time with them. They had told us to come visit any time, and as our other vacation plans just didn't work out with all schedules (all the directors and managers at Rich's work were either out of town or out of country when we really wanted to go, then ballet was starting, and the college classes for Alexander, and our homeschool co-op), so we decided to shift our start date for school, and take this one weekend off so that only Amira missed only one ballet class, and there wasn't anything else for her or anyone else to make up when we got back. We were blessed to have Rich around longer, though, as he took the day before we left off as a preparation day, and has taken this week off to work on things at home and spend time with us. We got back yesterday just in time to eat a late lunch, get Amira and Yasmina ready to go to ballet and for me to head to my friend's going away party. Most of our week's schedule kind of looks like that.

Our garden is treating us better than we have treated it, and we've been harvesting loads of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, summer squash, cucumbers, and okra. We're using that in our meals quite liberally, and were able to bring some with us to our friends' house, too, and share with them. Now, we just need to find our potatoes in the ground. And harvest the corn.

Below, I include our daily Bible readings which we use to read through the entire Bible each year. We read through all of the Old Testament and New Testament, reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Remember that the Psalms are according to eastern numbering in our daily Bible reading, also I Kings is the original designation, it is I Samuel in western Bibles (II Kings is II Samuel in the west, III Kings is I Kings, and IV Kings is II Kings, I Ezra is also called I Esdras in other translations, II Ezra is often translated as Ezra or II Esdras).

• Sunday - Feast of Saint Cyprian of Carthage Job 29-30, Psalms 38, Proverbs 8:11–16, Romans 12
  Breakfast: Egg Burritos, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza
• Monday - Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross Job 31-32, Psalms 39, Proverbs 8:17–21, Romans 13
  Breakfast: Pancakes with Berry Syrup (we found a fellow selling berry syrups in the hills by the river and picked up four to try), Chorizo Patties, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Stuffed Peppers, Rice, Green Hot Sauce, Harissa, Cucumber-Tomato Salad
• Tuesday Job 33:1-34:9, Psalms 40, Proverbs 8:22–26, Romans 14
  Breakfast: Vegetable and Cheese Scramble, Buttered Toast, Fruit, Grape Juice, Coffee
  Dinner: Nachos
• Wednesday Job 34:10-35:16, Psalms 41-42, Proverbs 8:27–31, Romans 15:1–21
  Breakfast: Mediterranean Omelets, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Tomato and Eggplant Sauce, Garlic Bread, Marinated Cucumbers and Onions
• Thursday Job 36-37, Psalms 43:1–9, Proverbs 8:32–35, Romans 15:22–33
  Breakfast: Breakfast Casserole with Bacon and Egg, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Vegetable Beef Stew, Egg Noodles, Cucumber Tomato Salad
• Friday Job 38, Psalms 43:10–27, Proverbs 9:1–6, Romans 16
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Sliced Bananas and Honey, Pomegranate Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Chives and Sour Cream, Salad
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Theodore Job 39-40, Psalms 44, Proverbs 9:7–11, I Corinthians 1
  Breakfast: Saint Phanourios Cake, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Biscuits, Sausage Gravy, Sliced Tomatoes, Corn on the Cob

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up.

Labels: Books, Church Year, Design, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Knitting, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen, Yarn, Yarn Along

So, first things first, I am almost half way finished with Amira's cropped hoodie. I'm hoping to have it finished for her by the end of the month, so she can start wearing it to ballet. Also, I am nearly finished with all my swatches/prototypes and have already submitted one design proposal, with five to do next week and two more due at the end of the month. But that's not what I'm really excited about now.


©Geneve Hoffman Photography.
Storey Publications released their One-Skein Wonders for Babies: 101 Knitting Projects for Infants & Toddlers, and so I have released Saint Catherine of Alexandria for individual purchase also. Please check out the book, there are a lot of great designs in there. I'll be posting a little more about the book in just over a week. I'd love it if you favorited, queued, bought the pattern, too, all of those count quite a lot when a pattern is first released. It's a really quick knit, and so adorable! In fact, for the release, I have a coupon code, good through 11:59 p.m. PDT, September 10, 2015 - Alexandria - that will get you 25% off the purchase price, if you wish only to buy this pattern, rather than the whole book. If you pay attention to dates, there will be another sale on it in a couple months, too.


Here is Nejat in a variation of Saint Catherine last summer.
And here's the weekly reminder to like Arabian Knits Designs on Facebook, if you haven't already. That's where I put updates and testing opportunities and other design news. There hasn't been a lot posted there in a while, but your liking it gets me more visibility with folks who may not know about my patterns and that helps. Thank you!

I haven't been doing a whole lot of my own reading, because of the mad swatching and sketching and proposalling. However, I did start to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 25th Anniversary Edition to our kids since Rich and I love the books and have enjoyed reading them aloud to each other since we were dating. I had forgotten how much bad language was in them, so I kind of ended up whispering parts of the book while reading, but other than that, everyone is really enjoying the absurdity.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On, and Yarn Fanatic Party.

Labels: Books, Design, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, Yarn Along

We have a few weeks until our school year starts up and I'm trying to maintain my denial. We have a few appointments this week regarding Alexander's college program, but I'm trying to ignore what that actually means. Because of how many directors/managers were gone from Rich's work during the times that we were trying to have our vacation, it just didn't work out, and now ballet has begun again and school is approaching. Normally, we would have started school this week - today, actually - however, we figured a way to squeeze a short trip in before Alexander starts, if we delayed when we started at home, and also managed it so Amira only misses one day of ballet (and it is her shortest day of class, too), so she can make it up without too much difficulty. Unfortunately, this means that we miss seeing a lot of the people we intended to visit with on our longer, earlier trip. On the other hand, it means that Rich is going to have some days at home to work on the "farm" and home and we could be here to finish up our bathroom remodel (which is almost complete!!!), since he took almost the same number of days off that we initially talked about for our earlier plans.

This is a long intro to say that here is our menu, there aren't a lot of repeats, and we're slamming in as much fun as we can right now. Oh, and we got a pig. Our friends had one they wanted to get rid of and we had talked about getting one from them, and the boys helped Rich build the fence, gate and shelter for the pig, and it is here now. They have named him Sir Francis Bacon. That was Dominic's idea. I mentioned the Sir part. We're still getting produce from our garden, but I'm worried since fall has already started that we are on borrowed time. We had intended to get some root crops in and maybe a late planting of peas for a second crop, but that has not happened. Neither did we get any greens planted for some late fall eating. We will try again next year. The pig is helping us put our garden to bed, and it is also uprooting the thistles. We had heard that the only non-chemical way to get rid of thistles, the only natural way to do it, was a pig. He's earning his keep.

I know I'm rather behind on some recipes that I've promised and one that was requested, as well as some randomania, and an award post. Actually, I have a kind of exciting post planned for a couple weeks from now, too. Since I try not to feel guilty about my blog, I can only apologize and work to get that together as I have more time. Thank you for your patience. Our schedule this week is jam packed. Amira is in ballet four out of five weekdays, Yasmina is at the studio twice a week, Mariam once. One day, we have all three of them there from 4:00 to 7:30, and this week and next we have activities up to their start time and afterward. Also, we've been doing as much as we can with some friends who are moving to Pennsylvania at the end of this month. They have been good friends to us and we are thrilled that they are going to a good job and situation, but we miss them terribly, too. So, we have had sleepovers at their house and ours, we have had them over to play and for dinner, and we're going to see them a few more times before they go, plus a going away party, and open house, and an unbirthday party for the wife, me, and another friend. We did this last year the month after all our birthdays had passed, and this year, we are trying to have it the month between our birthdays - mine is in July, one is in August, and another is in October. I hate the goodbyes.

Below, I include our daily Bible readings which we use to read through the entire Bible each year. We read through all of the Old Testament and New Testament, reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Remember that the Psalms are according to eastern numbering in our daily Bible reading, also I Kings is the original designation, it is I Samuel in western Bibles (II Kings is II Samuel in the west, III Kings is I Kings, and IV Kings is II Kings, I Ezra is also called I Esdras in other translations, II Ezra is often translated as Ezra or II Esdras).

• Sunday Job 11-13, Psalms 34:1–16, Proverbs 7:1–6, Romans 8:1–17
  Breakfast: Raisin Bagels and Cream Cheese, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kofta in Tomato Sauce, Rice, Sautéed Peppers, Onions, Okra and Eggplant, Salad, Harissa and Green Hot Sauce, Khoubz Araby (Pita Bread), Giardinera, Cookies and Brownies
• Monday Job 14-15, Psalms 34:17–28, Proverbs 7:7–12, Romans 8:18–39
  Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Roasted Corn, Salad, Pretzel Dogs, Caramel Corn
• Tuesday - Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady the Mother of God Job 16-18, Psalms 35, Proverbs 7:13–20, Romans 9:1–13
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Cinnamon Brown Sugar, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Ham and Beans, Cornbread, Fried Okra
• Wednesday Job 19-20, Psalms 36:1–20, Proverbs 7:21–24, Romans 9:14–33
  Breakfast: Labneh and Za'atar with Olive Oil, Diced Tomatoes and Cucumbers, Toast, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cream of Poblano Soup Fried Tortilla Strips, Cucumber-Tomato Salad
• Thursday Job 21-22, Psalms 36:21–40, Proverbs 7:25–27, Romans 10
  Breakfast: Saint Phanourios Cake, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Stuffed Peppers, Rice, Green Hot Sauce, Slow Sauteed Green Beans
• Friday Job 23-25, Psalms 37:1–11, Proverbs 8:1–5, Romans 11:1–15
  Breakfast: Ful, Green Hot Sauce, Toast, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Chives and Sour Cream, Salad
• Saturday Job 26-28, Psalms 37:12–23, Proverbs 8:6–10, Romans 11:16–36
  Breakfast: French Toast, Bacon, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dinner at Friends'

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up.

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

Again, most of what I've been working on this past week is really stuff I can't share yet. I have eight proposals due this month, plus two of my own self-published pieces to get ready for release and/or testing. That jumble up there is six of the proposal swatches/prototypes and the blue-green bit is Amira's cropped hoodie. One of the proposals is ready to send, which is good, because it is due on the 4th for a digital magazine. I have half of my prototypes for a yarn company knit, and started on the next one for them. Those are due with written proposals in two weeks-ish, plus another which is started, but not completed, for a pattern aggregate. The last two aren't due until the end of the month, and Rich and I have a lot of driving to do in the near future, so I'm going to work on those while he drives. In the meantime, I have a design that is almost ready to release, but I've kind of been derailed by working on these. I figure end of month for that. Then, on to work on a texture and lace shell for wearing under jackets or with skirts in the fall, and with pants or jeans in the spring. I'm really excited about that.

Here's the weekly reminder to like Arabian Knits Designs on Facebook, if you haven't already. That's where I put updates and testing opportunities and other design news. There hasn't been a lot posted there in a while, but your liking it gets me more visibility with folks who may not know about my patterns and that helps. Thank you!

My reading is basically the same as last week. I'm forcing myself not to start any other reading right now, because I have so much else on my plate.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On, and Yarn Fanatic Party.

Labels: Design, FOs, Homemaking, Knitting, Yarn Along